‘Phenomenal Kid': Del Mar Reacts to 20-Year-Old Local's Death in Nice

Nicolas Leslie's death has taken an emotional toll on his Del Mar community.

Leslie, 20, was confirmed to be among the 84 people killed by a truck that barreled through a crowd watching Bastille Day fireworks in Nice, France last Thursday.

The sophomore at UC Berkeley was from Del Mar and graduated from Torrey Pines High School.

Longtime neighbor Geert Schmid-Schoenbein said he’s angry Leslie’s promising life was cut short.

Schmid-Schoenbein said Leslie was an excellent student who came to visit his parents on weekends.

“Very intact family, about as good as you can get,” he told NBC 7. “[He was] academically very strong. What else could you hope for from a kid?”

Leslie had been reported missing following the attack, and travel companions in Nice posted flyers in hopes of finding him. His uncle had been searching hospitals in Nice since the attacks for news of his nephew.

On Sunday the unfortunate news of Leslie's death was reported to campus officials by the FBI.

A neighbor, who grew up across the street from Leslie told NBC 7 he was a role model and a kind person and that she wished she had taken the time to get to know him better. 

"I always just assumed that I would just watch him carry out his life. So, it's the type of thing where you never know," Naz Etemad said.

Estemad said she would always see Leslie and his dad packing up their car to go surfing, windsurfing or spear fishing.

"They were always doing the coolest stuff. Super close with his dad. Definitely had a good relationship with him," she told NBC 7.

One of his companions who'd been distributing flyers in Nice posted to Facebook in part:

"Survivor's guilt is one of the strongest emotions I've felt... The one night I was sick, and wanted to stay home, this happened. You're the happiest person I ever knew. Thank you for the best three weeks of my life. "

Leslie, an environmental science major, was in Nice as part of Berkeley’s study abroad program.

The University Tweeted this message on Leslie's death:

Another friend posted in part:

"I've been waiting all weekend for you to walk through the door with a crazy story to tell me... But, you didn't. The world is an unfair place, where people are taken before their time... Where one selfish act of a crazy person can destroy so many people’s lives... My prayers go to you and your family. With a heavy heart I say fare well.”

On Saturday, Leslie's father, Conrad, traveled to Nice from San Diego in search of his son, NBC News reported.

Contact Us